Synonyms

assassination

American

[uh-sas-uh-ney-shuhn] / əˌsæs əˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

the premeditated act of killing someone suddenly or secretively, especially a prominent person.

The meticulous way in which the journalist's assassination was carried out has led to suspicions that his killers were professionals working for state security.
the act of destroying or harming treacherously and viciously.

They went after me with everything they had, engaging in character assassination and in destroying my reputation—a complete fabrication and frame-up.

Other Word Forms

counterassassination noun

Etymology

Origin of assassination

assassin(ate) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The death of Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, announced Wednesday by Israel, was the third high-level assassination in roughly 24 hours in a series of strikes that have hollowed out Tehran’s leadership ranks.

From Los Angeles Times

Masoud Pezeshkian said the "cowardly assassination" had left Iran "in deep mourning", after Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Khatib in an air strike.

From BBC

Before the war, Khamenei reportedly tasked Larijani with devising a plan to ensure that the Islamic Republic would survive a major attack by Israel and the US, including the assassination of its leadership.

From BBC

Davignon, who went on to become a vice president of the European Commission in the 1980s, was a novice diplomat at the time of the assassination.

From Barron's

For baby boomers, the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023